Remorse
by forTheLoveOfHades
Summary: The Wizarding War was lost, as were many innocent lives . To thwart this loss, a time traveler sends baby Tom Riddle to the past (Middle Earth). There he is brought up as foster brother to Estel and foster son of Lord Elrond. Will a different upbringing change Tom's nature? Can he become a better man? AU
1. The Beginning

**LoTR and HP crossover. This story follows the life of Tom Riddle in Middle Earth. ****Sry for the short length of the chapter. **Onto the story!

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**Prologue**

It was raining outside. A thunderstorm was raging in London, one of the worst ones in a long time. Flashes of lightning illuminated Wool's orphanage, a dreary place set in the middle of London. One little boy, no more than a year old was sitting wide eyed in his cot, the drizzling raindrops on his window making shadows in his pale face. As the storm raged on, the orphanage groaned and creaked, so no one heard the scraping of the door as it was opened slowly.

A man, dressed all in black, a hood drawn over his face stepped into view. Thunder rumbled ominously above, announcing his entrance.

He was dripping with water. None of the inhabitants of the orphanage, save the boy, were aware of him as he moved silently across the floor, his dripping cloak leaving a trail of water behind him. He clutched a black stick in his hand, his pale knuckles tightening around it unconsciously. As he neared the cot of this baby, the man stopped.

Lightning flashed off the man's face for a second, briefly illuminating a pale youthful visage, and round-rimmed glasses which hid haunted green eyes. The man stood there for a moment, tilting his head as if he were discerning something incredibly important about the child. He slowly lifted his hand holding the stick and pointed at the child. The baby boy stared back at this apparition curiously.

The man's hand wavered as he continued to point the stick at the child who watched him with big innocent, azure eyes. The man clutched the stick tighter, his arm trembling as a raging inner battle took place within his emerald eyes. He seemed to lose the battle because he slowly lowered the stick.

"I cannot kill a baby," he whispered to himself into the shadow of his hood. "I am not like that_ monster!_"

He stood there, taking shallow breaths as if he had just run a marathon. He bent his head down in shame, raindrops dripping off his forehead onto the orphanage floor. All this work; he had given up his whole life for this, and he was too weak to fulfill the task at the end.

He took a deep breath and resolve shone clearly in his eyes. He carefully lifted off something from around his neck, which glinted gold in the pale moonlight. If one looked carefully, they could see an hourglass, etched with strange markings along its sides and little knobs around its edges. He cautiously put it around the boy's neck. The child still did not make a sound; he just continued watching this man with intelligent knowing eyes.

"Hope you become a better man than you once did, Riddle," he whispered to the boy. He then twisted the hourglass around the necklace and sent it spinning out of control, not counting the number of times it spun. The little boy clutched the golden necklace tightly in his tiny fists, as he seemed to disappearinto the shadows of the night. The man stood there, watching.

Thus, Tom Marvalo Riddle vanished from the Wizarding World forever.

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	2. Chapter 1

**Middle Earth begins. Elladan and Elrohir are the twin sons of Lord Elrond. Estel was adopted by Elrond 2 years ago, so he is nearly 4 years old in my version.**

Chapter 1

Elladan bent down to look at the trail more carefully. He had been following it for several days now without any success.

"Brother," called Elrohir, from behind him. "It is time you gave up on that trail. Just admit it, you cannot catch the deer."

Elladan glared back at his brother. Elrohir just grinned and mounted his horse, turning around to face Elladan.

Elladan was surprised to see Elrohir in such a good disposition. It had been a long time since Elrohir joked and smiled about. Elrohir had been quite close to Arathorn and since Arathorn's death, he had been rather subdued. He felt that it had been his fault that Arathorn was dead for he had been there when Arathorn took the arrow in his eye. Only for Aragorn, or Estel , who was now under his father's care, did Elrohir smile genuinely. Considering it had happened two years ago, Elladan was grieved to hear that his brother still felt guilty. The death of one of Elros' line was hard on both them and their father, but he had learnt to overcome his grief when Estel entered the picture. Thinking of Estel, who was always happy to see them, brimming with childish excitement, brought a smile to his face.

"At least I am able to track," he snorted. "Unlike an elf who mistook the tracks of a doe with that of a wolf."

"That was not my fault!" retorted Elrohir. "I was distracted because of you; talking about private matters in front of Beren. If that tale got out, I would never be able to look at the Rangers in the eye again. "

Elladan began to speak, a witty remark on his tongue when he suddenly paused, cocking his pointy ears. "'Elrohir, _Daro_" he said, putting his hand up to stop his brother's horse. "Do you hear that?"

The forest itself was silent, as if all the trees were listening in on them. Only the wind whirled relentlessly, fluttering the dark hair of the elven brothers around their pointed ears.

"_Yrch_!" whispered Elrohir. "What are they doing so close to Imladris?"

"I know not," replied Elladan, his voice hard and cold, the millennia of hatred for these fell creatures shining in his eyes. "But I know that they will not remain long."

Both brothers silently moved across the clearing towards the location of the orcs. They parted the bushes in front of them to see unhindered. A shocking sight greeted them. A group of orcs, carrying various crude weapons milled about.

"_Ed' i'ear ar' elenea!" _exclaimed Elrohir. "So many!"

"Look they are surrounding something on the ground." whispered Elladan stretching his head.

Before they could get a clearer view of what was on the ground, the wind suddenly blew from behind the twin, sending their scent towards the direction of the orcs. The brothers looked at each other, rapidly making their decision. Before the orcs could react, they attacked. Both brothers dealt death swiftly and gracefully, caring not for their own injuries, only the mad fury at these creatures shining in their minds.

Pulling his sword out from the last orc, Elladan paused to look around. Utter destruction lay around them as dead orcs littering the ground. Elrohir was limping towards him, covered in the orcs' black ichors, red patches showing through his tunic.

" Tis only a scratch," said Elrohir in reply to the look that Elladan gave him. They looked around once again to make sure none of the creatures escaped. When they saw that all the creatures were slain, they wiped their blackened weapons against their tunics. Then they began to slowly tend to their wounds. Elrohir had a large cut across his torso, courtesy of an orcish scimitar.

"I do not want to be there when _Ada_ sees this," remarked Elladan. He too sported numerous cuts and scratches. "He is tired, I think, of constantly patching us up every time we step out of Imladris."

"Compared to Legolas, I believe that we receive much less injuries," replied Elrohir.

"Yes, I cannot think what King Thranduil goes through each day when Legolas leaves for his patrols in Mirkwood."

"Greenwood, _gwanunig __nîn_, Greenwood" said Elrohir, with the air of someone who was lecturing a child. "King Thranduil would have your hide if he realizes that we call his precious forest Mirkwood."

"Well then," amended Elladan. "_Greenwood_ it is."

"Did you see what those orcs were surrounding?" asked Elrohir.

"No, but look_" _said Elladan pointing his finger towards a spot away from the battlefield. "That was where the orcs were convening around. _En_!"

As they cautiously approached that spot, they saw that indeed, there was something there; a baby human, not more than 2 years old by the look of him. He was covered in some sort of striped clothing. The baby blinked at them sleepily, as if a battle had not just happened a few meters away from him.

"What is a child of the _edan_ doing so far from human settlements?" asked Elrohir. "Where are its parents?"

"I will scout the area to see if his parents are here anywhere." Elladan sheathed his sword and disappeared into the forest to see if there was any sign of the child's parents.

Elrohir looked down at the baby. "_Av-'osto_, _tithen pen. _We will not let any harm come to you now." He sat next to the child. His eyes caught a glittering object lying near the child. "What is that?" he mused out loud, lifting up the strange object. It was some sort of a necklace that looked as it if was broken. Some sort of powder was running out of it.

Suddenly he heard the footsteps. He hastily tucked in the necklace into his tunic pocket and stood up. He relaxed when he realized that it was his brother.

"I could not find any sign of _edain_ being here, not even a solitary track," said Elladan as he walked towards him. "I think his parents are probably dead. The orcs had the baby when we saw him, so I assume that they were probably going to make him their dinner."

Elrohir's eyes widened, in horror. "We cannot leave him here for the wolves, Elladan."

Elladan knew what he was thinking about. What if it was Aragorn that was here? They had found Estel like this, sitting near the body of his dead mother, crying his eyes out. They could never leave an innocent baby out in the forest.

"No, we will take him to _Ada_. He will know what to do." Elladan slowly moved towards the baby as to not scare it. The baby made no noise as he lifted him, just staring at Elladan with deep blue intelligent eyes as if he understood all that was happening around him.

"Do we have something to cover him with?" he asked. "He will be cold soon. All our clothes are too worn and dirty."

"Yes, I have an extra cloak in my pack," replied Elrohir. "I will go take it." He left to find their horses which had bolted during the battle. After some time, he came back, clutching a bundle of cloth in his hands. Elladan swaddled the baby in the cloak.

"He is very handsome," observed Elladan as he mounted his horse with one hand holding the baby securely against his chest. "If it was not for his round ears, I would have said he were an elfling."

"That would only be because you cannot see properly, _Gwanunig nîn_. An elfling has not been born in Arda for nearly two _y__é_n," retorted Elrohir. "Tis a pity that you could not even remember such simple details, brother. What will Erestor say? All that time he spent torturin-er…. teaching us about the elven history, wasted because you were too busy trying to put frog spawn into his tea cup."

"That was you, little brother," replied Elladan. "I was the one who distracted him. 'Twas a much more perilous job. I had to listen to Erestor speak without pause on how to organize the library properly, for nearly one hour."

Elrohir just laughed as he clambered up his horse, swiftly setting down the path for Imladris, Elladan following closely.

Later, that day, a pair of disheveled dark haired elven brothers were seen riding down the path, atop two white horses, and in one's arm was a bundle of clothing in which lay a sleeping child of man.

**Translations**

_Yrch = Orcs_

_Daro = Stop_

_Ed' i'ear ar' elenea = By the sea and stars! _

_En = Look!_

_Edan = men_

_Tithen pen = little one_

___Av-'osto = Fear not_

_Gwanunig nîn= brother (twin)_

_Edan = man_

_Yén= elvish unit of time, equal to 144 human years _

_Ada = Father (Dad)_

** I got these Elvish Translations from a really good website but i don't know if they are all accurate. I have also seen twin bothers as _gwador __nîn_ but i decided to go with _gwanunig __nîn. _**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

A few days away, both brothers reached Imladris safely. As soon as they dismounted, a small blur attached itself to Elrohir's legs.

"Elrohir!" a small voice shouted. "You are back. I told _Ada_ that you would be back soon. He did not believe me."

"Elrohir easily scooped up little Estel. "Did you , _tithen pen?_ Where is _Ada_ anyways? He is always here to greet us."

"Maybe he was watching from inside to see that mischief you have led yourself into," came a deep musical voice from the doorway.

"_Ada!"_cried Elrohir.

"Are you well, _ion nîn_? No injuries?" asked Elrond, his eyes raking over the twins in concern.

"No _Ada_, n-nothing," stammered Elrohir, his face reddening as his arms moved subconsciously to hide his injuries. "We are fine. Not injured…. anywhere…. at all."

"_Ada, _we are in need of your advice." interrupted Elladan before Elrohir could blab all their numerous injuries out loud. He moved aside to show the small bundle of clothes in his arms in which the baby was fast asleep.

"What is this, Elladan?" asked Elrond. Estel looked on curiously.

"We found him in the forest, _Ada,"_ put in Elrohir. "He was surrounded by orcs and his parents were nowhere in sight, so we could not leave him to such a fate."

By then, a myriad of elves had surrounded them, some looking on curiously.

"We will continue this discussion in my study," ordered Elrond, as he saw their conversation was no longer private. "Bring the child too."

The three elves slowly made their way towards Elrond's study. Estel already distracted with something, had run off. After entering the study, Elrond closed the door and turned around to face the twins.

"Explain, _ion nîn._" He asked.

Elladan launched himself into the story. By the end of it, Elrond was looking quite flummoxed. "You say that his parents were not there? Not even their remains?"

"No _Ada_," replied Elrohir. "Elladan scouted the surrounding area and found nothing."

Elrond sat behind his large desk, which was filled with numerous scrolls and letters. "Then it is a good thing you brought him away from there. _Edain_ have been known to leave their offspring away in woods for the nature to take her course, if they are not able to afford taking care of them."

By then the baby had opened his eyes and was looking at them curiously, his mouth forming a tiny yawn. The child tilted its head looking at Lord Elrond, his big blue eyes blinking innocently.

"May I hold him?" asked Elrond hesitantly, stretching out his arms for the child. Elladan transferred the baby over to Elrond. However, as soon as the child was settled in Elrond's arms, Lord Elrond jerked suddenly, his eyes glazing over.

"_Ada_?" asked Elladan nervously. He had known his father to act so when he had a vision of the future. He had acted exactly like so when he held Aragorn in his arms, knowing that the child was destined to be king, thus naming his Estel.

"He….This child is important," whispered Elrond, his eyes still glazed over, though now in shock. "With the foresight gifted to me, I feel that this child will bring about change into _Arda_. I know that without him, Middle Earth will fall."

Elrohis and Elladan stared at their father and the child of _edan_ cradled in his arms, in astonishment. To have such a great destiny ahead of him, the child must indeed be someone important. Their father's foresight was never wrong.

"_Ada,_ what are you going to do?" asked Elladan, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"I have made my decision," declared Lord Elrond, straightening up in all his glory. "This child shall hence be named _Elaer _and he shall be brought up as a son to me and a brother to Estel. His name shall carry the weight of his future, for he shall bring about a great change for Arda."

Elladan and Elrohir were astonished. Another human fosterling? Truly, if this babe was destined to change the world, then there was no safer place for him to be brought up that Imladris. That was why Estel was here after all.

And so, another human child was adopted by Lord Elrond, much to the curiosity of the other elves in the Hidden Valley. One human fosterling, most could understand, but two? It remained the talk of all when Lord Elrond announced his decision.

Lord Elrond had not made this decision without much careful thought. He knew that this young boy was important for the future of Middle Earth. Moreover, Estel would now have a younger human brother near his own age to play with. He would not be lonely as the only _edan _amongst elves. Elrond, during the few moments he had held the child, had given his heart to him because of his beautiful blue eyes and the intelligence he saw in the child's face. This child might not be from the line of kings, but Elrond somehow knew that he had nobility in his blood. Even so young, it showed in his countenance and Elrond could not give up this child to be fostered any other.

**Translations**

_Tithen pen = little one_

_Ada = Father (Dad)_

_Ion nîn = my son_

_Edain = men_

_Edan = man_

_Elear = Visionary_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

**9 Years Later **

Little Elear had grown up into a bonny young lad of 10 years old. He, unlike Estel, who was more interested in learning how to wield a sword, spend most his time in Lord Elrond's vast library, perusing through the ancient scrolls.

Lord Erestor was quite content that at least one of the fosterlings dedicated himself to learning useful things instead of wasting their time swinging a sword like that irreprehensible Glorfindel. How that elf ever learnt to read, Erestor did not know, considering that he was probably holding a sword since he could stand. The boy in front of him, was intelligent; maybe more intelligent than most of the elves here, though Erestor would never say it out loud. He had a fierce thirst for knowledge. He devoured all the books that he could get his hands on. As soon as he learnt to read Quenya, he moved to books written in the Ancient Tongue. Now, he was frantically perusing through the Fall of Gil-Galad, an account of the Last Alliance as if it were the very air he breathed.

"Elear," he called softly. "It is time for you to go outside now. As much as I regret telling you this, sitting inside all day is not good for you. Go on now." Erestor felt like such a hypocrite as he uttered these words. After all, he himself spent all day in the library, going out only at mealtimes. But he was the Chief Advisor. That should earn him his right to live in the library.

Elear looked at him reproachfully, his radiant blue eyes, wide and innocent. "But, Erestor, I am just at the good part. 'Tis too interesting to put down," he pleaded with the older elf. "Also, I did go outside today." _for ten minutes_, he added in his head silently.

"Alright, _tithen pen_. If you did, then you may stay in until you finish that scroll" agreed Erestor.

He went back to his work, only looking up at times to check if the boy had finished that page yet.

After some time, Elear got up, and dusted himself. "I am done with the scroll, Master Erestor," he declared.

Erestor looked up from his work and saw that indeed, the boy was done. _He was very quick_, Erestor noted. "Very well. Now put the scrolls back as you found them, Elear."

Elear dutifully put all the scrolls back in order and piled them in their respective positions. Making sure everything was in organized, he exited the library.

Erestor noted all he did with a careful eye. The child was truly clever as well as obedient. If i t had been Estel, he would have most probably clumsily tipped over the pile of carefully arranged scrolls. Estel, now that he had hit his growth spurt, was all limbs and big feet, much to his embarrassment. Whereas, Elear had arranged the scrolls so that even the little piece that stuck out before he began reading, still did. Erestor shook his head slowly. There was nothing wrong with that child save that he was rather quiet and introverted. He clearly loved to gain knowledge through books. What Glorfindel said about the boy couldn't possibly be true. Not only was it impossible, it was also unlike the boy. He remembered that day, a four years ago when Glorfindel came into his study, running as if a horde of orcs were behind him.

_"Erestor!" shouted Glorfindel. "You have not the faintest idea what I just have seen with my own eyes."_

_Erestor was in the middle of an important letter for King Thranduil. He looked up at the golden haired elf, irritated. _

_"Pray tell, Glorfindel. I cannot wait to hear what is it that you, Scion of the House of the Golden Flower, saw fit to see?" he asked, sounding like he wanted to do the exact opposite._

_" 'Tis the boy, Elear," panted Glorfindel, sounding out of breath, something that an elf does do, ever. "I was walking in the garden for a stroll in the sunshine, and I saw Elear near the edge of the garden. He was bending down over something. I walked over thinking that he had fallen, but when I neared, I heard it." Glorfindel paused for dramatic effect. _

_"Heard what?" asked Erestor, thoroughly bored with the golden-haired elf's story. Everyone knew that Erestor was busy today. Why that blond elf had to come and disturb him, he didn't know. And the faster he finished his story, the faster he could kick him out. _

_"I heard hissing." Said Glorfindel . "At first I thought that it was probably something else. But when I came nearer, it was obvious. The boy was crouching next to a snake. An adder. And he was hissing at it. I know what you are going to say," he said quickly when Erestor looked like he was going to argue. "I did think that maybe the boy was playing with the snake, trying to mimic its language, but then, I heard the snake hiss back. I was astounded and when I looked closely, the snake was nodding its head to something the boy had hissed. As if he understood everything that he just said."_

_"You are imagining things, Glorfindel," replied Erestor. "No one has the ability to converse with animals, save some of the Istari. If you are implying that the boy is an Istar_, mellonamin_, then you need to see Lord Elrond."_

_The Balrog Slayer looked frustrated. "I did not imagine anything. I know what I saw. That boy, Elear was clearly conversing with a snake. I know that only some Istari have the ability to converse with animals, but snakes in general have very dark minds and it takes dark skills to speak the language of the serpents. You know it as well Erestor, that there are only few who can speak to a specific animal and none of them are the type of people who deserve to live in Arda."_

_Erestor was giving this conversation his full attention. Accusing the son of their liege lord was a high offense. And from what he understood, Glorfindel was doing exactly that. "Are you telling me that the boy is connected to Sauron? That he acquired these skills from the Dark Lord? Think about what you are saying Glorfindel. You do not want to offend our lord and master by falsely accusing his son," he advised. _

_"Of course not," amended Glorfindel hastily. "I did not say that the boy is a spawn of Sauron. I would never in entertain such a notion. Yet, you have to admit, his abilities are suspicious."_

_"His abilities would only be suspicious only if they existed, Lord Glorfindel," replied Erestor testily. "I for one do not believe that a mere child, who lived in Imladris since the age of 1, is able to learn such dark abilities alone. Have you taken this up with Lord Elrond?"_

_"No, if this is how you react, Lord Elrond would never believe me. He is blinded too much by the boy to see him truly," said Glorfindel. "Thank you, Lord Erestor, for your opinion on the matter. I had hoped that years of friendship would have taught you by now that I do not lie. But no matter. I see truly how you view this situation." He turned to go out the door.  
Erestor felt his face blanch. Was he really so harsh with him? He had only said his thoughts on the matter. Erestor had already liked the boy. He was sweet, charming and a quiet child. Surely, he could not be conversing with a snake. _

_"Lord Erestor," said Glorfindel suddenly. "Be advised that whatever you say, I am going to keep an eye on that boy. I do not trust him." Then he abruptly shut the door and left. _

_As soon as he left, Erestor put his head in his hands and sighed, forgetting his very important letter. He had truly made a mess of things. He had brought down the ire of the golden-haired warrior upon him. Still, he could not be expected to believe that a child of ten could do such things? No, Glorfindel could only have dreamt it. Elves were known to have very vivid dreams. He took a deep breath and went back to work. _

_For the next few days, Erestor watched Elear. From what he saw, Elear was a quiet boy, who didn't do anything suspicious. He only freely talked to Estel and Lord Elrond. To everyone else, he was impeccable polite and good-natured. 'No' Erestor concluded. 'Glorfindel must have been mistaken.' _

_However, he couldn't let go of a small shiver of dread, whenever he looked at the boy at times. His eyes seemed to have a cold gleam in it. Cold and calculating. _

_'No, he must have imagined the gleam in his eyes.' But from that day onwards, Glorfindel ceased talking about anything other than business with Erestor, much to his dismay. Both elves were too proud to admit that they could be wrong, and so, a great friendship was lost to the ages. _


End file.
